HUDSON, Wisconsin — A disgraced Wisconsin teacher accused of sexually assaulting her 11-year-old student claimed Thursday that the charges against her should be thrown out — because the preteen boy’s text messages weren’t specific enough about how they touched each other.
A judge disagreed, and said Madison Bergmann — who made headlines when she was accused of “making out” with the fifth-grader weeks before her wedding — must stand trial for charges that include first-degree child sex assault, child enticement and sexual misconduct by a school staff member.
Intimate text messages that the pair exchanged also emerged in court, in which the 24-year-old elementary school teacher allegedly said she wanted to “lick” the boy’s abs and that he enjoyed touching his chest.
The 24-year-old faces a maximum of up to 178 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Bergmann arrived at court flanked by her father. She was wearing braids in her hair, with a black top and light-colored pants.
She cried as she took the stand during a hearing on her defense team’s motion to dismiss the charges.
An attorney for Bergman read from her racy texts with the alleged victim — and argued that her behavior did not rise to the level of sexual assault because the boy used the word “chest” in describing their physical contact.
“The basis of this motion is that there’s not probable cause in the complaint, in one specific area,” attorney Joseph Tamburino told the court, “and that’s the area of ‘sexual contact of intimate part.’”
“Under Wisconsin statutes, there has to be touching of an intimate part in order for there to be sexual contact,” Tamburino argued. “What are those parts? The breast, buttocks, anus, groin, scrotum, penis, vagina, or pubic mound of a human being. The statute does not say it’s the ‘chest’ or the ‘chest area.’”
In one text, the 11-year-old allegedly wrote, “You were touching my chest a lot.” He argued that the word “chest” was not enough to charge Bergmann with sexual assault.
But in the end, the judge said, “It would be absurd to require a child to use the same language that the state legislature has chosen for our statues.”
Then the judge read more of the texts.
“I love having my hand on your chest. I could feel your heart beating so much haha” Bergmann allegedly wrote.
The boy allegedly replied “haha it was beating so fast. I was so surprised and I loved it because you just kept kissing me.”
“When everyone was cleaning after reading, I was standing at the front and you were too, and I touched your chest,” Bergmann allegedly wrote. “When I grabbed your shirt and I pulled you into me, oh my goodness…I want to lick your abs haha.”
The judge ruled that the word “chest” does not mean that the boy wasn’t assaulted.
Bergmann, a former fifth-grade teacher at River Crest Elementary School was originally charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child.
Last month, she was slapped with nine additional felonies — one count of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, five charges of sexual misconduct by school staff, two charges of child enticement causing mental or bodily harm, and a charge of exposing a child to harmful materials.
According to the criminal complaint, Bergmann’s alleged abuse of the 11-year-old boy came to light when the student’s mother overheard her son talking to the teacher on the phone. Suspicious, the parents checked the boy’s phone and allegedly found salacious texts between the pair.
The deranged text chain included messages from Bergmann allegedly discussing multiple encounters inside the Hudson, Wis., classroom during lunch or after school. She allegedly told the child how much she enjoyed him touching her and “making out.”
Some of the alleged assaults even happened in Bergmann’s classroom, according to the complaint.
The boy’s enraged father stormed into River Crest Elementary School with printouts of the conversations, authorities said.
When police searched Bergmann’s classroom, they allegedly found a folder in her bag with the victim’s name on it. The folder allegedly contained handwritten notes talking about how much they kissed and fondled each other
An attorney for Bergmann has not returned The Post’s requests for comment. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
